Uzbek drug policy relies on cooperation with multinational partners
NATIONAL CENTRE ON DRUG CONTROL, CABINET MINISTERS OF THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN
Drug abuse — and the drug traffickers who meet that demand — are severe problems in much of the world. Uzbekistan is finding some success in this area today by countering the threat of drugs with all of the social, economic and political resources of the state. The country applies a balanced approach aimed at reducing drug demand while also preventing illicit trafficking based on a comprehensive program implemented by the State Commission on Drug Control in 2011.
The framework of the program is designed to further strengthen the material, technical and human resource capacities of law enforcement agencies, modernize and develop the drug treatment service, enhance international cooperation in combating drug trafficking and conduct targeted drug addiction prevention.
Combating drug trafficking
As a result of measures in 2014 to identify and shut down drug trafficking channels, as well as comprehensive operations to combat drug trafficking, Uzbekistan’s law enforcement agencies opened 6,698 cases of drug-related crimes, down from 7,680 in 2013. Drug cases for sales, smuggling, illicit cultivation of narcotic plants and other drug-related crimes were also down marginally from 2013. In the course of anti-trafficking operations, Uzbek law enforcement seized 2,298 kilograms of drugs, including heroin, opium, marijuana, hashish and kuknar, an opium variant.
The main efforts of law enforcement agencies have been directed at prevention and suppression of criminal activities and interregional drug traffickers, who had established stable drug smuggling channels across state borders, mostly from Afghanistan and Tajikistan. For example, an Afghan citizen was detained in February 2014 in Termez district while attempting to smuggle 64.6 kilograms of opium into Uzbekistan across the Amu Darya River in a rubber boat; and in May 2014, several members of a criminal gang smuggling drugs from Tajikistan into the Samarkand region were arrested and their opium shipment seized.
Uzbekistan maintains a strict regime of border control and inspection of vehicles to improve efficiency of detection. For example, in the Bukhara region in October 2014, during the inspection of a freight train en route from Uzbekistan to Turkmenistan, 5.8 kilograms of heroin were found under a railcar; and in December 2014, 6.8 kilograms of heroin were found at the Bekabad customs post in a freight train passing through Uzbekistan on its way from Tajikistan to Lithuania.
Uzbekistan also carried out a two-stage comprehensive large-scale operation called Black Poppy 2014 to detect and prevent the illicit cultivation of narcotic plants and prevent offenses related to drug trafficking. Black Poppy 2014 resulted in 1,125 new criminal cases for illegal narcotic plant cultivation, and 6,692 square meters of illicit crops were destroyed. An additional 2,900 drug-related criminal cases were opened, and 852 kilograms of drugs were seized.
To improve detection of drug smuggling across state borders, Uzbekistan has taken measures to improve the technical capacity of relevant authorities. A number of checkpoints have been equipped with modern technical control facilities, including large stationary and mobile scanners.
Over the past year, the law enforcement bodies of Uzbekistan have also enhanced their information analysis and technical capacity in the fight against trafficking. To improve the mechanism for exchanging, organizing and processing information, Uzbekistan developed a single database based on modern analytical software, IBM i2, provided through international partnership projects. The program had been installed in the analytical departments of Uzbekistan’s law enforcement bodies, and a simplified form of the database had been developed.
The National Center for Drug Control has conducted training on the methodologies for the analysis of operational information through computer systems for employees of the analytical departments of the Interior Ministry, the National Security Service, the Borderguard Service of the National Security Service, the State Customs Committee and the General Prosecutor’s Office. Currently, a national interagency database system (similar to the law enforcement systems of the EU countries) is under construction.
Preventing addiction
Analysis of the drug situation in 2014 attests to a continuing positive trend in key epidemiological indicators. The initial incidence of drug abuse decreased, the number of drug addicts registered for dispensary observation decreased 8.4 percent and addicts who inject drugs, the most dangerous method, decreased 25 percent, to just 34.8 percent of registered addicts.
Much attention has been paid to preventive work, with the main objective of reducing demand for drugs and other psychoactive substances to decrease high risk drug use. Regional workshops for deputy directors of schools were organized on spiritual and educational topics to increase the effectiveness of anti-drug education. Neglect, delinquency, spread of drug addiction and HIV were widely covered topics at the seminars.
To provide methodological guidance, the Ministry of Public Education, jointly with the Republican Information Centre and the Tashkent Islamic University, organized training courses for 325 experts on spiritual and moral education. The Drug Dispensaries of the Republic conducted 183 workshops for teachers on prevention and early detection of addiction to psychoactive substances among children and adolescents.
Topical and sport-related sections involving more than 482,100 children — 10.8 percent of all students — were integrated into leisure activities at secondary schools. To promote healthy lifestyles, 6,500 sports-related sections involving more than 1.6 million young people operate in schools and mahallas, or religious schools. The total number of children involved into sports has increased 12.3 percent.
The ministries, departments and public organizations measured primary prevention of drug use among the various segments of the population, especially youth. Medical experts conducted more than 10,000 lectures and seminars and appeared in the media 632 times while drug treatment institutions provided consultations around the clock via hotlines. A national campaign for the International Day against Drug Abuse was carried with regional administrations sponsoring a number of events involving both public and civil society organizations, including a bonfire fed by drugs seized by law enforcement agencies.
Strengthening drug treatment capacity
In 2014, in Fergana city, a new facility was commissioned for the regional drug treatment clinic, including all structural units of the outpatient department. Construction of the inpatient clinic building is planned for 2015. And construction of Bukhara and Navoi regional drug treatment clinics is included in the 2015-2016 investment program.
To provide urgent care in Bukhara, Kashkadarya, Namangan and Samarkand regional drug treatment clinics, new intensive care rooms were established and provided with medical equipment through the assistance of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) project, GLO/J71 for treatment of drug addiction and its health consequences. Also, as part of this project, Naloxone medicine and diagnostic guides were published and distributed among narcologists in the nation’s drug treatment clinics.
International cooperation
In 2014, steps were taken to ensure the implementation of Uzbekistan’s international obligations within the legal framework of bilateral and multilateral cooperation on drug control. An Uzbekistan delegation visited the United States from May 3 to15, meeting with the Michele Leonhart, head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, to discuss issues of cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking. A number of drug enforcement amendments to the 2001 bilateral framework agreement between Uzbekistan and the U.S. were signed.
And to increase the efficiency of Uzbek-Russian anti-drug cooperation, Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs Federal Drug Control Service of the Russian Federation signed a protocol in December 2014 on exchanging research results on narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances seized from illegal trafficking.
The implementation of the 2004 agreement among Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states to cooperate in combating illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors was ensured, and a delegation from Uzbekistan met in June 2014 with the heads of SCO member agencies that combat illegal drug trafficking.
Representatives of the National Information and Analytical Centre on Drug Control (NIACDC) participated in the meetings of the Council of National Coordinators of the Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre (CARICC) for combating the illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors. A decision on the organization of CARICC was adopted at the last meeting of the council in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in December 2014.
A number of international projects of the UNODC and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), aimed at improving the material-technical and human capacities of Uzbekistan’s ministries and departments, were implemented. Training courses, seminars and workshops were organized within the framework of projects to improve the skills of the competent authorities. In 2014, 146 employees took part in training courses and seminars on the fight against drug trafficking and the prevention and treatment of addiction.
Meetings were held at the NIACDC with representatives from foreign states, as well as with the staff of international organizations (UNODC, OSCE and the European Commission) where proposals and priorities in the fight against illegal drug trafficking were discussed.
Conclusion
Uzbekistan is taking a multidimensional approach to fighting the scourge of drug abuse. First, Uzbek authorities have ramped up operations to fight drug trafficking. The results have been tangible, as new criminal cases for drug crimes were down in 2014. Treatment of drug addiction is the second tool in Uzbekistan’s battle with drug abuse. The country has invested significant resources in new drug treatment facilities, medical equipment and procedures, much of it in cooperation with international partners. The results are encouraging, with registration of new drug addicts down almost 30 percent since 2006.
Finally, international cooperation is key to successfully fighting an international problem like drug trafficking. Uzbekistan has partnered with the UNODC, the OSCE, the SCO, the European Commission, the U.S. and the Russian Federation to share information, develop cooperative strategies and conduct joint training in anti-trafficking measures. Together with its partners, Uzbekistan is working to protect the region from drugs.